1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alpine ski boot having an upper journalled on a shell base.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Alpine ski boots generally have a shell base and an upper. The upper comprises a front cuff and rear spoiler, which are tightened around the lower leg of a skier by appropriate elements. The front cuff and rear spoiler can either be journalled around a common lower transverse axis or around two independent axes.
By journalling the front cuff and rear spoiler around two independent axes, an advantageously wide opening for insertion of the foot can be obtained by pivoting the rear spoiler towards the rear of the ski boot. Despite this advantage, the journalling of the front cuff and rear spoiler on two independent axes causes a certain problem. Specifically, due to the fact that the two independent axes are fixedly mounted on the shell base and, in effect, constitute two fixed apices of a "deformable parallelogram" having movable sides formed by the front cuff and rear spoiler, there occurs, during a forward flexion of the upper, a contraction of the "parallelogram", i.e., a reduction of the distance between the front cuff and the rear spoiler. This "contraction" of the upper which accompanies the forward flexion causes a variation in the tightening around the lower leg of the skier, which is both uncontrollable and undesirable.